AJ grill — Local services in Taipei

I am at a loss of words. Came here to celebrate my gf's birthday expecting good steaks but did not expect AMAZING steaks. Dry aged 18 days, made to perfection I tell ya! I have dined at some of the best steakhouses in the US, Taiwan, Japan, among others, and this is THE best steak I have ever had bar none. Everything about it was perfection from the cut, to the seasoning, to the thickness, texture, and even the integrity of the meat. Not too hard, not too soft. Juicy yet not overly oily or greasy. Heard the chef came from another well know steakhouse in Taipei and branched off with his own restaurant. We ordered the crab cakes and cow tongue sliders as appetizers with a side of smoked ham salad. Some of the best appetizers I have ever had, especially the cow tongue slider with two different sections of cow tongue for maximum explosion in your taste buds. One layer more fatty and the other leaner but still filled with flavor. You can tell the food is made with high amount of love using high quality ingredients with no corners cut, and not just to make a quick buck. The staff were all so friendly and informative as well. Not overly intrusive yet helpful and attentive when you need them. Hard to find staff like these, these days. Would HIGHLY recommend! I would give them 6...

Fresh sourdough - served with compound butter that’s infused with seaweed. Good.

Salad - with mint yogurt dressing that reminded me of Greek tzatziki sauce but with avocado in place of the cucumber. Thick bacon was too chewy without the crispy exterior. Blue cheese was overpowering, could do better with cottage/feta.

Mushroom soup - Nothing ground breaking but still good.

Enchilada - the zucchini was very distracting in every bite. No need to stretch creativity here and just go with the traditional meaty taste.

NY Strip 8 oz - Nutty scent was immediate when it was brought to table. Internal was slightly blue rather than medium rare per my order. Exterior could take a lot more hell wrath to get that crusty maillard. Meat itself was excellent and appropriately aged at appprox 30 days without...

I had high hopes for this restaurant because of its reviews and word of mouth.

The food was decent but not outstanding.

Service was really attentive and the ambiance was nice too. 5 Stars!

Sirloin and Ribeye were both cooked perfectly to our requirement of medium rare. Ribeye was pretty good but Sirloin was on the chewy side even at medium rare.

I would normally give this food experience a 4, but both me and my wife had stomachache after the meal therefore it is a 3 for me.

My favorite dish that night was its French fries.

Oysters were not tasteful, maybe that's what we got the stomachache from.

Would I go back? Yes, would like to give them another try in the future as it has potential to be very good. But I would give them some time to tweak it out...